


There's No Fixing This

by Spinny



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: A clinically insane Papyrus, Alphyne, Angst, Anxiety, Brotherly Love, Child Abuse, Depression, Deviates a LOT from canon, F/F, Flowey is a jerk at first buuut, Friendship, Gen, He gets better, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Insanity, M/M, Mental Disorders, Minor Original Character(s), Murderers, Other, Papyrus Has Issues, Papyrus-centric, Sans Has Issues, Suicidal Thoughts, The OCs are very minor so they won't bother you too much, Twisted morals, an actual nice romantic relationship between Papyrus and Flowey, gaster is dadster, gaster is not a good guy, hopefully will have a happier ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2018-09-11 15:41:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8996893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spinny/pseuds/Spinny
Summary: Papyrus has a secret under that scarf of his.Enjoy an AU that I made up in the dark recesses of my mind. Should you decide to read, I hope you enjoy!





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Monsters are known for being pleasant, almost angelic beings. They want to keep it t h a t w a y
> 
> AN AU WHERE NAUGHTY MONSTERS CAN'T EXIST

“Once upon a time, there was a race of people living underground. They were not your average people though. These people had all sorts of amazing traits, like…strangely-shaped bodies, horns, tails, spikes, slime, anything you can imagine. But even though they all looked very different from one another, they treasured and loved one another anyway. They were pros at looking past physical appearances, and looking inside one another instead to find the beauty there. These creatures were called Monsters, but they were anything but. Monsters were not the human stereotype of horrible and menacing, but they were very pleasant to one another in general. But what should happen to one who wasn’t so pleasant?

A black-hearted bully.

An atrocious abuser.

A vicious killer.

Sure, grown-up monsters would just go to jail for crimes such as those. But what about a child that is damaged enough to become one of these people? As soon as a monster child started to show signs of turning into any kind of variation of these individuals, the royal guard would…”

“Send them to jail?” A small, cheerful voice piped up.

An old, ragged turtle shifted his feet, which were just able to touch the ground from the damp log he was sitting on. He glanced at the owner of the cheerful voice bemusedly. He chuckled a bit before speaking again, in a croaking voice worn from age.

“No, they would…”

“DEATH SENTENCE!! YAHH!”

“Dammit, Undyne, siddown! …anyway, as I was saying, these, er, troubled young’uns would receive a much stranger, more unorthodox treatment instead,” The turtle continued.

“What does un-ortha-pox mea—“

“Find a dictionary. No more interruptions. ANYWAY, back in the day, monsters were lazy. And getting treatment and counseling for these lil ones was too much work, apparently. So the smarty-people up at the Capital invented something. A collar, to be exact. I remember the day the Guard came here, to this very elementary school, to round up the troublemakers, pitch-black collars in hand. These collars were a brilliant invention, but they did terrible things.”

The pint-size fish monster called Undyne spoke up again. “What did they do?!”

The old turtle looked troubled, as if he was debating whether to continue or not. He closed his eyes for a long moment, the three children sitting in front of him leaning forward eagerly. Finally, with a resolute but grim air about him, he opened his droopy eyes again.  
“Well, monsters didn’t consider this as abysmal as this is at the time, but the collars would git into yer mind. And shock ya good if you had any of these “poisonous thoughts”, as they called ‘em. Or if you did anything ‘bad’ in general. The power of these ‘electric’ shocks varied from murderer to bully. Although, it was very, very rare to find an actual killer in the bunch. Inevitably, this collar would s l o w l y change yer personality. On the outside, at least. On the inside, these poor children were suffering badly.”

“But didn’t they deserve it?! A few of them were actual murderers!”

The aged monster telling the story sighed, seeming exasperated but fond.

“Undyne, remember. These kiddos were about yer age, and younger. They didn’t need high-voltage shock collars to force-change their mannerisms. They needed actual help; they needed therapy, counseling, anything! The hypocrisy of monsterkind amazes me sometimes, honestly! The real horrible people were the ones administering these collars to children! The shocks weren’t even actual electricity. they were made of a special type of magic, one that was produced exclusively to allocate pain! I can’t imagine, those poor children, forced to grow up with a necklace of suffering permanently attached to their neck! If these kiddos tried to take them off…if they…”

The children watch in discomfort and horror as their beloved history teacher’s eyes started to fill with tears.

“…Mr. Gerson, are you okay?” A petite blue monster with lots of fur looked up in concern at the elder monster, radiating empathy and warmth. “I’m fine, Yvetty,” He gusted out with a shuddery sigh as he picked up the little fuzz ball, cradling them in his scaly arms.

He continued, looking calmer with Yvetty in his lap.

“These children would return from the Capital ‘happy-go-lucky’ and ‘carefree’. But their bad thoughts and their voice were trapped and smothered on the inside. In extreme cases, they were forced to act nice ALL of the time, even when tormented themselves. They were not ‘fixed’, as the Capital’s government had planned. Just painted over with pretty colors and tossed aside. Thank the stars that those atrocious collars were outlawed so long ago. But only when the capital realized…”  
A single tear slipped down his cheek and soaked itself into Yvetty’s fur.

“That none of the monsters had made it.”

Paperweight, a miniscule monster made of cardboard gasped, Undyne lowered her head, and Yvetty’s tears joined Gerson’s in their fur.

Gerson lifted his head, smiling sadly. “Not one survived past age 30, and magical shocks don’t kill ya,” He mumbled, sighing heavily out of his nose before deciding to close up today’s history lesson.

“Listen closely, young’uns. Yer generation ain’t supposed to know about this stuff. But I’m tellin’ you anyways, because it’s an important lesson.”

All three children gazed at their teacher in determined concentration.

“Never, ever, ever try to ‘fix’ someone too fast. Help them help themselves, do you hear me?” He asked, making sure each of his students nodded their heads vigorously.

Silence reigned in the damp room for a moment, the rustling of leaves amongst the glowing mushrooms and the class’s collective breathing the only sounds present.

“I’m tellin all of you this fer another reason too.” The children jumped a little as the rasp of Gerson’s voice pierced through the ringing silence. He looked up forlornly, as if he was suddenly in a different time.  
“They need to be remembered. The poor little ones who didn’t get the treatment that they needed to help themselves out. The ones who, despite what they did…

 

…didn’t deserve to die that way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was incredibly short, but it was just the prologue! More chapters are on the way with our favorite puzzle-loving skeleton leading them!


	2. hotel towels arent even that soft

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The calm before the storm.

It was a cold day outside in Snowdin. Then again, every day was cold in that town. But today, it was especially brisk; snow was raining down a little harder than usual, and children were forced into more than one layer by their parents. More than one incident of unlucky monsters getting buried under small avalanches had been reported to the local Guard, and it wasn’t even noon yet.

Near the center of town, a monster and his children were moving into an abandoned-looking little house, which obviously had not been lived in for quite a while. The small family didn’t seem to mind, however, as the tallest member graciously accepted help from neighbors with moving the furniture in.

“Oh, it’s no problem at all! This town is very small, so this kind of work is rare, anyways. What I’m saying is, is that not very many people move here,” A thin, female rabbit laughed good-naturedly as she single-handedly lifted a box as big as herself through the doorway with ease.

A tall, lanky monster wearing a lab coat, who happened to look extremely similar to a human skeleton, almost stumbled over one of his small children playing in the snow as he struggled to follow her, carrying a wooden bedside table. “But still, I must thank you,” He said smoothly. “The monsters who resided in Hotland when I first moved there were not as hospitable as monsters here seem to be. It’s very refreshing.”

“Aha, well, I can assure you, we love to help each other out in this town!” A large monster who seemed to be made entirely out of smoke exclaimed. “Plus, its safe for children. We haven’t seen an act of crime here once in years, not to mention…”

_Boring._

A tiny skeleton monster thought as he tuned out the grownups’ conversation. It was fading away anyway as they went inside. The skeleton, whose name was Papyrus, was playing out in the snow with his older brother Sans. He was not sure he liked this “snow” very much. The gloves he had to wear were suffocating his hands, and he couldn’t move his boney fingers very well.

“Oomph!!” He grunted as he was suddenly pummeled into the wretched snow by a snowball that Sans had probably thrown.

“UUUUHN, SA-AAANS!” He whined loudly, tilting his head and tapping it lightly with his glove to get the snow out of his eye sockets. The tiny glowing lights in his eyes that served as his pupils flickered back into existence as he did so, allowing him to glare at his brother more effectively as Sans laughed his bony butt off a short distance away.

Papyrus growled and stood up clumsily, almost slipping and falling back into the snow. Stupid. Snow. He shoveled a mound of the freezing white stuff in his hands and tried to toss it at Sans. To his great disappointment, it just rained down as useless white powder instead of hitting his brother.

“hee hee! papy, you hafta pack it together, like this!” Sans laughed again, picking up some snow and pressing his gloves all around it to make a sturdy-looking ball. “he-yah!” He called as he threw it at Papyrus.

Papyrus ducked out of the way just in time. “Ha! You can’t get me!”

Sans grinned evilly. “yeah I can!” Both of the brothers broke into shrill giggles as Sans tackled Papyrus to the ground and they began an impromptu wrestling match in the snow.

“Boys!”

 _Uh-oh,_ Papyrus thought as he got off of his brother and stood up, looking up at his angry-looking father. Said parent sighed and pressed his hand to his skull exasperatedly. “Papyrus, I have told you many times, Sans is fragile. So _please_ , no wrestling matches as of now.”

 _Sans started it though_ , Papyrus thought bitterly. But he barely heard Sans whisper “i’m _not_ fragile,” and instantly he felt a little bad for his brother. Sans had only one HP, which was a measure of a monster’s Hit Points. If you didn’t have very much, you could die very easily if someone were to try to beat you up. Having only one was considered a big problem, but despite his condition, Sans didn’t like to be considered “fragile”.  He liked wrestling with Papyrus and doing all of the other stuff the kids could do.

The bad thing was, Sans was a goody-goody. He listened to his father most of the time, while Papyrus was the opposite. If only Sans would stop being such a pet! Then he and Papyrus could do all sorts of fun stuff together and Sans wouldn’t be so sad.

“Come on now,” Their father said after a moment. “Let’s go check out our new house, yes?”

Both boys perked up and instantly ran into the house, Sans calling out that whoever finds the biggest bedroom first gets it.

“Goodbye, Dr. Gaster! Have a nice day…!” Papyrus heard the bunny monster that helped them move in call out as he followed Sans as best he could into the house.

 

Later in the evening, the family of three was seated around their dining room table, munching on burgers. Papyrus picked at his food, having never liked the fake meat that everybody ate in the Underground. He slammed down his fork suddenly, feeling very cross. “I want real meat!” He exclaimed, both of his family members staring at him confusedly. His father sighed. “Papyrus, there’s no meat down here. We didn’t bring cattle or pigs down underground when the humans sealed us up. We only have the plants that naturally grow here. I remember teaching you this already. Basic stuff, my boy,” He patiently explained.

“I want something that used to be alive,” Papyrus said in a spooky voice, watching his brother cringe in disgust with amusement. Gaster frowned. “No. Eat your burger and stop complaining.”

Papyrus huffed and crossed his arms angrily. “Don’t wanna. S’gross,” He muttered, too quiet for his dad to hear.

“hey dad, won’t be getting to work harder now ‘cause we don’t live so close to the Capital anymore?” Sans spoke up from across the table. Gaster smiled.

 “Well…it may take longer, but that’s a small price to pay. Hotland was too hot for you, son, it wasn’t good for your health. When you’re older, however, I’m sure you’ll be able to roam about in that place as you please.”

Sans’s smile slowly disappeared. Well, as much as it could anyway. They were skeletons; they all tended to have sort of a permanent grin. “I knew it,” He mumbled. “we moved because of me.”

Gaster placed a hand on his son’s shoulders, a reassuring look on his face. “Sans, moving was not a bad thing. And we would do anything for you. Right, Papyrus?”

Papyrus was still in a bad mood. “I dunno. Snow sucks,” He muttered. Gaster scowled at him, looking strangely disturbed. “Young man, you are THIS close to getting sent to your room,” He said, pinching his pointer finger and thumb together. Papyrus glared back, but said nothing in return.

“see?” Sans said, looking panicked. “hotland was better! I wasn’t too hot there, i’m _fine_!”

Gaster shook his head. “No, it wasn’t. This’ll be a new good start for us, okay? I swear it.”

Sans relented, but reluctantly so.

Silence permeated the room for a moment, until, with a sudden burst of energy Papyrus flipped his plate off the table, screaming “GROSS!!”

“PAPYRUS, GO TO YOUR ROOM!!!” Gaster screamed back, with a little more anger than what was probably necessary. Sans was laughing across the table, looking quite cheered up. Papyrus smiled as he hopped off his chair and stomped off to his new (smaller than Sans’s) room with his tiny legs.

He took one more glance at a giggling Sans swinging his legs at the dining room table before slamming his door shut.

 _Mission accomplished_.

But that didn’t mean Papyrus wasn’t pissed. And hungry. Without even a second thought, he opened up his window and leapt through it. He was gonna find some food. Some food that wasn’t fake meat, that is.

But maybe he was too used to living on the first floor.

“AAAAH!!” He screamed as he sailed through the air, landing thankfully on a snow poff that happened to be directly under his window. He scrambled his way out of it with much difficulty. “Ugh,” He grunted with absolute annoyance as he brushed snow off of himself with freezing fingers. He didn’t need gloves though. He didn’t.

He looked around for a moment. It was rather dark, but the snow sparkled under the light of various streetlamps. Snow was still falling through the air, but more gently than earlier. It fell straight down in big, puffy flakes, as there was no wind. Most houses’ lights were off. “People sure go to bed early here,” He remarked to himself. “Or maybe we just eat dinner late.”

He stood there for a moment longer, shiveri-no, he wasn’t cold. And he definitely wasn’t internally debating whether or not he should just go back inside. “Welp,” He chirped, swinging his arms a little and raising his head high. “Best be off.”

And off he went.

 

Snowdin wasn’t a very big town, but it was still a town. Which meant that if you were new, you could get lost. Which is NOT what had happened to Papyrus, not at all. _I’m five whole years old,_ he had told himself. _I won’t get lost_.

And he wasn’t. He wasn’t currently lost, wandering the streets of this new place that he had literally never been to before at night, all alone. He just didn’t know which way to turn to get back to his house is all. He had given up on his little hunt for food a while ago, and decided he wanted to get home. He just needed to know the way. He wasn’t lost.

He wasn’t.

“I’m _lost!!_ ”  He cried, collapsing onto the street quite dramatically. Snow started to enter his skull through his nasal cavity, and he sat up again, sneezing it out. “Great,” He huffed, cold and worrie—NO! He wasn’t worried. He wasn’t scared, either. He was fine. In fact, he was actually having fun. He was wandering around and discovering new things, kinda like an adventure. He stood up, shivering violently. Where was his house?? Maybe someone was awake that he could ask. He just needed to find a house with the lights on.

“Aha!” He yelped triumphantly a while later, after fruitlessly searching a large portion of the town for a house with lit-up windows. He was about to give up and just pound on someone’s door, hopefully waking up someone in the process, but it turns out he didn’t need to! There was his savior, right there, with a snowy roof and dingy walls and glowing panes of glass decorating each side of the front door.

He cheerfully flounced up to the door and knocked three times with his frozen knuckles. “Ah, what a beautiful knock,” A muffled voice purred from inside. “Maybe if I don’t answer, I’ll hear it again.”

Papyrus stood there, very confused and getting colder by the second. He hesitantly knocked again.

“Ahh, my patience awards me.”

 _What_ _is_ _this??_

Papyrus, now slightly miffed, knocked a third time.

“Yes, so rapt, so jarring. I love it when people knock.”

Papyrus was very mad now. Someone was right there, right inside! Why wouldn’t they just answer?! “HEY!” He called out loudly. “I NEED SOME HELP! CAN YOU _PLEASE_ OPEN THE DOOR?!”

No response.

Papyrus stormed back down the steps angrily. Obviously he was going to get no help here. He hoped whoever was in that house would die horribly soon. _Wait, where did that thought come from? Oh well._

In his anger he tripped over the last step and landed face-first onto the snowy pavement with a pained screech. The snow was much thinner here, so when he lifted his head and rubbed it in pain, he felt scuffmarks and blood. This turn of events made him even more furious. “RRRAAAAAHGGG!” He screeched, tears pooling in his eye sockets. “DANGIT! WHEN DID TONIGHT GO SO WRONG!”

Nobody answered him, not even his own conscious, which wasn’t surprising as it had been silent almost his whole life, really. Not that he fully understood what a conscious even was. But his father had said that he had one, so.

Papyrus sat there, on the pavement, with a bloody skull and freezing fingers, not sure what to do. He sniffed, embarrassed about almost crying. Oddly, he still found the situation in quite interesting, as he had never been lost before. He was still having a little bit of fun, he supposed.

“Hey. Psst.”

Papyrus jerked his head up at the noise. “Is someone there?” He asked, his eyelights darting around frantically, small pinpricks of light glowing in the dark.

“Yeah. Psst,” The mysterious voice hissed again and Papyrus was able to pinpoint the direction it came from. It seemed to be echoing from behind the house he was currently at. “Kid. Psst. Over here. Pssssst.” Why did they keep saying “psst”? Oh well, it wasn’t Papyrus’s business. And despite the whispery tone, the voice was actually quite loud, and Papyrus was able to find this mysterious person quickly.

Oh, it was a snake monster. Well, the hissing made a little more sense now. Papyrus and Sans were both homeschooled by their father (He was a Royal Scientist!) and they had learned about snakes. According to the books that they read, snakes hissed a lot. Papyrus could now confirm that this was true.

“Hey, kid,” The snake monster hissed again, rearing their scaly head up so that they now towered above Papyrus menacingly. Papyrus blinked curiously, feeling no fear. The other monster seemed to realize this, lowering their head and looking a bit confused. “You’re a little small to be out this late, little guy. Aren’t you cold?” They asked, tilting their head in question, a fanged grin slowly plastering itself onto their face.

Papyrus shook his head, even though he was so cold he could feel his snot turning into face icicles.  “I’m not cold,” He stated resolutely. “Or small.”

“Yeah, sure kid. Hey, how’d you like to help me out with something? It’ll be fun.”

Papyrus squinted his eyesockets at the snake, who he now realized was wearing a very large striped scarf with a cute little face printed on it. “Help you with what?”

“Uhm, I jus’ need a little help borrowing something from someone.”

“Why would you need my help to borrow something?”

The snake thought for a moment, seeming annoyed. “Because…I’m very shy. I just need someone to sneak into the Inn down the road and grab me all of those fluffy white towels that they have in there. That’s all. It would be greatly appreciated,” They said, slithering around in circles around Papyrus, their scarf billowing all around them.

“Nah,” Papyrus chirped cheerfully, making the older monster sputter in surprise and stop their slithering. “I don’t really wanna help you. You can do it yourself, I believe in you!” And with that Papyrus started to walk away, intent on finding his house because holy moly he was _freezing_.

“Wait, you little rat!” The snake called out after him as he was trudging away. Papyrus turned around with an indignant look on his face, not very pleased with being called “little rat” but wanting to hear the older monster out anyway.

“You’re lost, right? I haven’t been in this town long either, but I know that you’re part of the skeleton family that just moved in. Son of one of the head Royal Scientists, right? I know where your house is. I can lead you to it if you help me out,” The snake hummed, sounding breathless but pleased with themself.  Papyrus thought about this for a moment. He didn’t really know where his house was, and if this person could help him find it…

Papyrus eyelights dilated for a moment as he thought of cozy blankets and hot cocoa and heaters.

“Okay,” Papyrus relented, turning back around and walking right back up to the other monster. “But you have to promise to bring me home if I help you borrow those towels.”

The snake nodded furiously, looking suspiciously like they were trying very hard not to laugh.

“I promise.”

 

An hour later, Papyrus was sitting in a very uncomfortable plastic chair, twiddling his thumbs and looking everywhere except the face of his seething father. A husky dog with bright blue eyes was standing to his left, mumbling some complicated stuff that Papyrus didn’t understand to his father. Papyrus could tell that the older skeleton’s eyes were not on the dog though. He could practically feel his father’s furious glare boring holes into his skull.

Man, was he in trouble. He couldn’t believe that stupid snake monster had tricked him! Although, to be honest, this whole experience proved to be incredibly entertaining. Papyrus was _terrified._ He didn’t get this scared that often! It was a fun feeling. He swung his feet a little and grinned, still high off of his adrenaline rush at being caught be the local Guard while “borrowing” towels at the Inn. That was scary, too. But not as scary as his father’s inevitable wrath that would be incurred upon him when they got home.

“…caught him trying to stack all of the towels on his head; it was almost incredible, really. He stacked quite a lot, you should’ve seen it---“

“I don’t care how many towels he stacked on his head, what I want to know is, _why_ _did_ _my_ _son_ _suddenly_ _decide_ _to_ _run away_ _at_ _8:00 at night, and then go the Inn to STEAL TOWELS_?!”

Papyrus flinched at his father’s suddenly loud tone that was obviously directed towards him. “I told you! It was a snake wearing a scarf! He tricked me! And—“

“Quiet! I’m sick of your excuses!”

Papyrus was insulted. But it was true! He had talked to that good-for-nothing snake himself. “I’M NOT LYING!” He screeched.

“Don’t you yell at me, young man! A snake wearing a scarf. I’ve been to this town many times and have never seen such a resident. Think before you make up pathetic lies such as that one,” Papyrus’s father sneered.

“Haha, yeah. It’s kinda strange. There was a kid last week that tried to steal all of the shampoo from the Inn, and she said something similar. A scarf wearing a snake. Imagine that,” The husky Guard spoke up, chuckling a bit. “Pretty shifty, if you ask me.”

 _Wait, did I hear that right?_ Papyrus thought suddenly. _A scarf wearing a snake? Was that what it was?! The scarf did have a face…and down here, monsters can look like anything. Did the snake ever even move its mouth? dang, now I can’t remember. How confusing._

“Papyrus, are you listeni—he’s not listening.”

A sharp tap to the side of his skull sent Papyrus out of his thoughts. He rubbed the spot where his father had flicked him in annoyance and turned his attention to the dog.

“Papyrus? You’re not in trouble, but you’ll have to do some community service around town tomorrow. Just for tomorrow though, okay? And please don’t try to steal again, okay little buddy?” The dog’s voice was gruff, but kind. “Just have someone take you here to the Guard station tomorrow and we’ll set you up with some work, got it? I got a son about your age, maybe you two can hang out while you’re working.”

Papyrus nodded, but made sure to send a filthy glare the dog’s way. He knew what community service was, and it was basically chores. He was energetic enough to do them quickly, but he wasn’t very fond of them. And he didn’t want to play with a mangy puppy, either.

The dog didn’t seem to notice his glare, and quicker than he could react, his father pulled him out of his uncomfortable plastic chair (good riddance, anyway) and out the door.

The walk back to their house was silent, for a little while. Until finally, Papyrus’s father exploded. But Papyrus’s father doesn’t explode the way most parent’s do.

He’s one of those parents who go deathly silent, and then get mad in the coldest, most terrifying way possible.

“So. Stealing.” Gaster’s words were like knives, colder and sharper than the night air pressing down upon them.

 Papyrus wisely stayed silent.

“I don’t get it. I don’t understand why you would think that that is an okay thing to do. I don’t understand why you do _anything_ you do. You lie, you run away, you vandalize things. I thought you were getting better. I thought Snowdin would be a nice new start from all of your troublemaking. But no. The night, the NIGHT we get here _you_ decide to STEAL.”

Papyrus tried, but found that he couldn’t regret what he had done. It wasn’t his fault; he didn’t even know that he was stealing, for pete’s sake!

“You’re so intelligent for your age. So why. WHY can’t you just TRY to be like the other kids, moral-wise? Why can’t you be like your older brother?

“Why can’t you be normal…”

That last part was whispered under his father’s breath so quietly that Papyrus knew that he wasn’t supposed to hear it. But he heard it anyway. And it stung a little.

A lot, maybe.

The Sans comment didn’t hurt as much. He had known his whole life that Sans was better than him in every way. Smarter, kinder, more obedient. Funnier. He had more friends than Papyrus.

Papyrus didn’t have many friends. Maybe that was because he wasn’t normal. His father had just said it after all…

Suddenly, Papyrus felt anger boil inside him, furious and red-hot. But this wasn’t his normal anger. This was a quiet, determined anger that he could keep inside and not have to let out in a rage-fueled tantrum. Why did he need to be normal anyway?! Normal was for suckers. Normal was boring. Papyrus wanted excitement. He wanted fun. Tonight was exciting. Tonight was fun.

Deep down, he wanted to be kinder. But he also wanted more nights like tonight.

_Yeah!! screw whatever dad says, anyw-“_

“Papyrus.”

Papyrus reluctantly looked up at his father again, determined not to listen. But what his father said next caught his attention anyway.

“You may be only five, but I will no longer have disobedient children in my house. You will get better yourself, or I will have to resort to more forceful methods. I am a proud perfectionist. And my two sons won’t be anything less than perfect, do you hear me?”

Papyrus nodded, still feeling rebellious. _Forceful methods? Ha, like he can force me to do anything._

 

The snow finally stopped falling for the first time that day as father and son reached their destination.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Things will be a little slow-going at first. 
> 
> Thanks for all of the nice comments on my last chapter! I get a little too nervous to reply sometimes, but I assure you that I read them all and I greatly appreciate every single one of them!
> 
> If you see any grammatical or spelling errors, don't be afraid to correct me haha.


	3. put the cube down and play with your brother

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow. its been two years. if anyone's still interested in this, here I go again ;w; ! i was going to try and rewrite this whole thang, but why not just leave it? i have a special place in my heart for original stuff, or maybe im just lazy. haha *u*
> 
> also, slight tw for child abuse

It had been a week since the family of skeletons had settled in snowdin, Gaster's two sons already becoming well acquainted with their new place of residence, (the younger celebrating the end of his community service expoits). As of today, the town was enjoying optimal weather; buildings and houses were bathing in the artificial sunlight of the underground, and the snow that interminably encased the town sat fresh with bulbous white mounds of it glittering pleasantly. The laughter of children playing echoed off of walls, rooves and evergreens, as did the general ambience of adult chatter in the streets. The town of Snowdin was enjoying another day of peace and quiet.

Sitting cross-legged on the soft carpet of his new-ish home, Papyrus the skeleton was not. 

"C'mon Papy, play with me," Sans begged for the hundredth time, lightly smacking Papyrus's hands to try and get his brother's attention. Papyrus huffed and put down his half-finished rubix cube, turning towards his older brother sitting on the ground next to him. "Play what?"

"Outside!"

"Nah way, you know I don't like snow."  _I don't really wanna go outside if I don't have to,_ Papyrus thought as he moved to pick up his rubix cube again. Before he could, a flash of white filled his vision and there was his brother, standing over him, tossing Papyrus's colorful puzzle back and forth between his hands. The resounding  _clack_ ,  _clack_ of plastic against bone taunted papyrus as he tried to grab for the cube, his brother dancing just out of his reach, giggling. "Sans! Give it!" Papyrus cried, struggling to get up fast enough to chase his confounded brother, who was already beginning to run towards the stairs. His incessant giggles turned to screaming laughter as Papyrus sped after him, both boys knocking various objects over as they tore their own path through the house.

Sans was much taller than his brother despite being only two years older, and Papyrus was rather small for his age, significantly smaller legs struggling to keep in tow of his brother's longer ones. The only reason he caught up with Sans was because the doof had tripped over a fallen stack of books, tumbling to the ground as the younger tackled him, both boys laughing joyously. The rubix cube lay forgotten inches away as Sans flipped his brother to his back and began a furious tickling war, Papyrus eventually screaming uncle at the top of his lungs.

Sans rolled off of him, the pinpricks of light in his otherwise dark eyesockets glowing brightly, his chest impossibly heaving with residing laughter (skeletons do not have lungs). "Gosh, papy, guess I really tickled your _funny_ _bone_ ," Sans said after a moment, giving his brother a wink. Papyrus screeched indignantly at the awful pun, nearly tackling his brother again.

_I hate those, dangit!_

"Oh, right, sorry Paps, I forgot you don't like my jokes so much. I'm such a _bonehead_ ," Sans chortled. Papyrus promptly leapt upon him, both of them roaring in laughter once more. 

A wide grin had stuck itself on Papyrus's face as his brother overpowered him easily, peppering his chest with fake punches. He truly did love to play with his big bro. He looked so happy. Papyrus decided that even enduring the snow would be worth it, and was about to suggest that the two go outside for a snowball fight when his father burst into the house, home from his grocery run, looking  _very_ unhappy. 

" _Papyrus!_ " Gaster bellowed, seething. He started to yell again but stopped and visibly tried to collect himself when he saw the startled and terrified faces of his sons, both frozen in whatever positions they'd been in when he had entered the living room. Gaster simply set the bags on the entry table, pointed at Papyrus, jerked his thumb in the direction of his room harshly, and walked in, signaling for the young skeleton to follow.  _Crap..._ Papyrus thought wearily, sternum growing uncomfortbly cold with indignant anger at being the only one to be yelled at, and with dread at the harsh lecture that would definitely ensue. _I'm gonna get chewed out bad for roughhousing again,_  He thought despairingly.Sans gave him a pitying look as Papyrus trundled by. His good mood was absolutely ruined. Nevertheless, Papyrus gave his brother a goofy "What's this guy's problem?" look back, earning himself a stifled chuckle. 

 

 

Papyrus's father paced back and forth, seemingly lost in furious thought. The dark room casted a shadow over his face, the cracks running through both of his eyes and down his skull becoming eerie looking as his eyelights guttered out in anger. Papyrus sat awkwardly on the large bed, swinging his stubby legs back and forth over the side. He hadn't been this scared since that one night where he had accidentally (totally NOT his fault!!) stolen towels and ended up at the guard station. This wasn't fun fear though. 

He wasn't enjoying this. 

Just when hearing nothing but his father's hurried footsteps was about to drive him crazy, Gaster stopped at looked at Papyrus dead in the eyes, pupils returning to his eyesockets. Papyrus found himself immediately glancing at his shoes and keeping his gaze locked there. 

"Why." The question was spat out like a statement, Gaster's anger too unbendable to warp the word into an inquiry. 

He was not meant to answer anyway.

So Papyrus was silent. 

"He's not meant to roughhouse, Papyrus. You are perfectly aware of this, yet you still do it. We moved here so his health would improve, and you can't even help that happen? You are actively keeping your brother from ever getting better, you child! What is  _wrong_ with you?!"

Tears stung Papyrus's eyes, and shame washed over him in turn. He hated crying. He hated being punished.  _He says child like im not supposed to act like one. I dont get it, I don't!_ He flinched as his father spoke again, his voice cold as ice. 

"Don't cry,  _boy_. I'm sick of you acting like a baby. You are no longer an infant-

 _I'm_ not  _acting like one..._

"-and you will assist in making sure your brother isn't throwing himself around the house like a goon-

 _My brother is not a goon!_ He couldn't take this, especially when his brother was being insulted. 

"-because it could  _hinder_ his advancement, and  _regress_ all of the measly progress he's made in the week that he's been here! You-"

Papyrus interrupted him by screaming suddenly, childishly. He was hurt, embarrassed, and angry. Very angry. He couldn't really comprehend it, his throat tight and his chest heaving. Gaster wheeled back from Papyrus in surprise, as he had been slowly advancing on the small child during his tirade. "IT'S NOT FAIR!" He yelled, tears running full-on down his cheekbones. "IT MAKES HIM HAPPY TO BE ABLE TO BE FREE! HE CANT GET BETTER IF HE'S _SAD_ ALL THE TIME!! HE WANTS TO BE LIKE THE REST OF THE KI-"

**_SLAP_ **

 

Papyrus's breath was stolen from him as his father, quicker than he could process, brought his hand down upon his son's left cheekbone, as harsh and as sudden as a lightning strike. 

"He can't be like the rest of the kids, Papyrus," His father began, voice low and deadly. "His HP is too low. One hit--a baseball, a friendly shove gone wrong, anything. Could. Be. Critical." At every word, Gaster poked his paralyzed son's chest roughly, trying his best to drive the point home. "His freedom will be sacrificed for his safety. And I would do anything to keep him safe," He finished, glaring at Papyrus pointedly. Papyrus shuddered. He didn't want to speak. He didn't think he'd be able to.

He tried anyway.

"But...we were just playing. In the house. You say the house is safe. You're always like 'In the safety of our own home,' and stuff...he should be able to, y'know, play inside with me, at least," Papyrus mumbled, voice shaky and small. Gaster said nothing in response for a while. 

Until he suddenly grabbed Papyrus by the collar of his striped shirt, forcing him off the bed and onto the floor. Papyrus's small legs stumbled to catch up to the rest of his body so he would not fall. He was _terrified_ , hands reaching up to grasp where his father's were, eyelights shrinking to pinpricks with fear. "Why can't you get this?" Gaster grumbled, pulling Papyrus along to the door, his long black lab coat sweeping papers off his desk as his pace quickened. _I_ _mportant royal scientist stuff,_ Papyrus's mind supplied inbetween the throes of garbled white noise that filled his panicked thoughts. "Sans is so intelligent. So obedient. You're the less...fragile one, so why can't you just be more like him? I don't understand. He should've been a good influence on you." 

Gaster opened the door roughly and Papyrus was thrown out of the room, landing in an unceremonious heap of tearful bones on the floor. 

"I'm going to take a nap, so I don't have too much of a headache to make dinner later. And after dinner I have to make a phone call..." Gaster paused for a moment to rub his eyesocket with the back of his hand in stress. "Help your brother clean up this mess," He said pointedly, looking less angry and more exhausted. And then the door slammed closed, Papyrus flinching heavily with it. 

Papyrus looked around the living room, tears obscuring his vision. Sans had already cleaned it up, but his father hadn't noticed. Sans was also nowhere to be found. He rubbed furiously at his eyesockets and decided to look for his brother upstairs. He got up shakily and proceeded to trudge up the stairs, rubbing his bruised cheek. His breath hitched at the pain and he collapsed on the third one, breaking down in messy sobs. He couldn't believe what had just happened. He got totally chewed out, as usual, but something was different this time. His dad was being way more... _mean._ It seemed like he didn't care about Papyrus at all. He even hit him...well, he slapped him on the cheek.  _Did that count?_ Papyrus had heard the kids in school talking about their parents spanking them. Was that the same thing? Was he just being a big baby about this...? He'd grabbed him, too. That was scary. The bad kind, not the roller coaster kind. The really bad kind. 

_This is all my fault..._

I _don't know what to do._

Well, yes he did. He was going to look for Sans. He tried his best to force himself to stop crying and continued to make his way upwards. He wasn't upset. He wasn't.  _Dad can go die,_ He thought angrily, stomping up the stairs in feigned confidence. 

"Sans?" Papyrus called as he made it to the top. 

"In here," His brother's voice echoed softly from his room. 

Papyrus made his way inside, and was immediately wrapped up in a warm hug. "I'm sorry dad yelled at you like that," Sans mumbled, eyes, downcast. "I know it was because of me. I heard most of it." He patted Papyrus on the head, making his little brother burst into tears again. As he clumsily rubbed his back, Sans got the strangest feeling that something more had happened. He couldn't fathom what. 

 

 

That night, the two brothers climbed into the same bed, tiny arms clutching each other until they both fell asleep. 

 

*****

 

Tello didn't get paid enough for this. 

 

Their gears clicked nervously as they made their way down the bleak hallway, trying very hard to keep only their destination in mind. They hated working the lab in the evening. It was dangerous to walk home this late in the Capitol, and the lab was incredibly...

_creepy_

at night. 

Dimly lit rooms, an empty office. Scientific tools laying around halphazardly, glinting in the flourescent light coming from above. The shadows seemed to move with them down the hallway, following determinedly, endlessly. It made Tello want to run screaming into the comfort of their own damn home, honestly. But they still had so much work to do. And they weren't even getting paid overtime. An irritated sound escaped them, somehow containing a hint of nervousness as well. A phone ringing a few doors down nearly scared them into dust. God above. Maybe they should adopt some children, or something. The head of the facility, Dr. W.D. Gaster, was compensated with early leave, being a single parent and all. Tello should invest in that little advantage. Maybe they'd get their own assistant.

They hurried to their office to grab the phone, which is where they were going anyway, and picked it up. "Ring, ring, hello?" Tello garbled, their voice exhibiting its usual trait of being very hard to understand. Dr. Gaster's voice crackled through the other end, not skipping a beat but obviously wrought with tiredness. "Tello. I need to inquire about...that  _thing_ I discussed with you around a week ago." 

Tello paused, gears clicking rapidly. "You're going to go through with that? They're quite old. I do not know if they will work. I have not managed to test one yet."

"I am. I am not equipped to deal with this...issue myself. I need you to try and test one tomorrow. Don't get caught, and e-mail me your results."

Dull, repeating tones took over the audio of the call as Gaster hung up. Tello set the phone down gingerly, lost in thought. They did not care about the wellbeing of Gaster's children, but they were disturbed by the air of certainty that stretched taut in his voice, drowning out any compassion he might have for...that one. It was strange. A parent should love their child, should they not? This seemed like a lazy way to raise one. But Tello would do it, they would test those wretched collars. It was none of their business, and besides, they were getting paid extra. 

A mechanical sigh escaped their mouth as they sat down to fill out the rest of the paperwork for tonight, documenting the results of the newest CORE tests from the basement.

They couldn't wait to go home and enjoy some Mettaton. He was doing a cooking segment tonight, and they had already missed the beginning. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this chap was kinda short, if you see any spelling or grammatical errors, lemme know!


	4. no pain, no gain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >:,)

 

"See? Look at 'im die," Papyrus murmured, concentrating heavily on the tiny cave roach currently at the mercy of his trusty magnifying glass. The roach squirmed under the concentrated artificial light, starting to smoke a little. Sans sat beside Papyrus looking distressed. "Papy, I know you're trying to cheer me up after last night, but our ideas of fun aren't always the same..." He said. He flinched as the bug burst into flames, Papyrus whooping next to him. "Put it out, put it out!" He chanted, kicking snow onto the small fire.

Giving the blackened mound of snow one last kick, Papyrus turned towards his brother and parked his bony rear on the snow with a loud "Umph!"

"Aw, Sans, ya gotta admit that was a little funny."

Sans curled into himself a little. "Bro...that poor roach..." He continued to look sad about it.

Papyrus cursed himself silently. He didn't know his brother liked bugs so much! He certainly didn't seem to like roaches when they'd crawl around their hiding places at the Capitol. Despite living in Hotland previous, the boys had time for much exploring at the Capitol where their father ended up working sometimes.

He sighed.

Sans had been looking pretty down since dad yelled at Papyrus last night. He figured it was because Sans felt bad for his condition. Which he shouldn't! Because it was not his fault at all! Papyrus had tried to tell him this many times, but it didn't seem to help much. So Papyrus decided to try and show his bro something he thought was cool! But...that didn't seem to help much either.

_Hmm, now what..._

Papyrus thought for a moment, wracking his brain for something else fun to do.

"You wanna build snow monsters and then punch their heads off?"

Sans smiled, and the snow became a little brighter to Papyrus.

"yeah, alright."

Half an hour and a couple partially-built snow monsters later, other children that were wandering about town started to join the fun. Papyrus was not sure how he felt about this, bitterly wishing it was just him and his brother as more and more kids evaded his yard to eagerly build their own snow monsters. He had never gotten along well with other kids his age...they didn't seem to like him as much as they liked his brother. Papyrus chalked it up to him just not being as good at talking to people as his big bro was, not because he was weird...and bad. He wasn't either of those things! No matter what they called him...He wasn't!

He surveyed his surroundings, wanting to know how many of them were here now so that he could avoid any unnecessary interactions. _There's Sans over by the porch..._ His brother was playing amitably with what looked like a couple of young dog monsters. One seemed to be able to grow his neck to however long he pleased, bouncing it up and down excitedly while patting down a lump of snow with his paws. The other seemed as shifty-eyed as Papyrus felt at the moment, eyes flitting scrutinizingly back and forth before going back to his task at hand. Across from those three, Two Loox were building a snow sculpture in their likeness together. _That's dumb..._  Papyrus thought. _Now it'll_ _just be awkward to kill it._  A snowdrake and a shiny lizard monster Papyrus had never seen were screeching as a tall tower of snow they had been carefully adding to came crashing down. Papyrus squinted at the lizard. They looked older than him, and had fangs. They appeared to be wearing a lot of snow gear, probably because they were a cold-blooded reptile. "They look cool..." Papyrus mumbled to himself, zoning out on the snow reflecting off their shiny scales.

"Hey! What're you staring at?" A voice snapped him out of his stupor. Blushing furiously, Papyrus glanced away from the monster quickly, shuffling his feet. "Weirdo!"-Papyrus flinched at the word-"Don't look at me for so long! If you're going to stare, go away!"

_This is_ my  _house...!_

Papyrus gave another hurried glance to Sans, finding out he hadn't noticed the interaction. With a hot flash of embarrassment, he heard the Lizard and the snowdrake stifling their laughter.

He kneeled down grumpily and started making his own sculpture. He was going to make a human! _I'll give it terrible teeth, and claws...and it'll be huge and scary. Like_ _humans are._  With a goal in mind, he set to work. He liked making art! Sans said he was good at it. And snow sculptures definitely counted.

"HI!" A voice right beside what would be his ear (if he had them) scared him out of his stupor. The arm he had been working on was broken in half as he jumped, whirling around to face his attacker, hands raised. "Whoa, put yer choppers down, friend. Here," The monster said, reaching down to pick up the other half of Papyrus's sculpture's arm, fixing the claws a bit. "Let me give you a _hand_." She chuckled at her own joke.

Papyrus took it, and despite being wary around this new person, couldn't help groaning at the pun. "You're just as bad as Sans."

The monster tilted her head, which, like the rest of her body, was covered in blue fur. "I don't know who that is."

"That's my brother," Papyrus said proudly, gesturing to said skeleton. "He's right over there."

"Oh, cool."

There was a moment of silence.

"I'm Yvetty. D'you want any help with your sculpture?"

Papyrus smiled and nodded. "Thanks! I'm Papyrus."

Significant progress had been made on their human sculpture when trouble arose.

"Hey weirdo."

Papyrus patted the head one last time and turned towards the voice, finding the lizard monster and their snowdrake friend much closer to him than before. Papyrus frowned. He didn't like being called a weirdo. "Leave me alone," He growled. "This is my yard."

The lizard faltered, malignant smirk fading for a second. "It is? Well--whatever!" They shoved Papyrus then, earning an indignant " _Hey_!" from Yvetty. "I don't like you! I don't like it when people stare at me! What are you, a freak?"

"Pearl, that's a little far," The snowdrake said quietly, ruffling his feathers. Pearl whirled on him in a second, scales puffing up in anger. "Shut UP, Drake! For just a second, shut up."

Drake shut up, looking agreived.

Pearl stepped back towards Papyrus, making him flinch. " _Well??_ "

The children around them had started to take notice of the commotion, beginning to wander over. Sans looked more worried than the rest, eyes meeting his brother's for a second before Papyrus looked back at the angry lizard looming slightly above him.

"I thought your scales looked cool, is all!" Papyrus yelled, frustrated.

Pearl stared at Papyrus for a moment, wide-eyed, before wildly shaking their head. "L-liar!" They yelled. Looking even more ticked off than before, they shoved Papyrus again, harder. Papyrus's tailbone landed on the show, cold seeping into his bones. And suddenly Papyrus was in his house again, getting thrown out of his father's room, landing painfully on the floor. The dimensions were twisted this time; the ceiling was bleeding black and the staircase across from him was twisting impossibly upwards. The walls seemed to be closing in, and his father loomed above him, face twisted in a snarl...Papyrus felt his breath quicken. _What is this...what is this...?_

"STOP!" Papyrus screamed, clutching the sides of his head. He jumped up, startling a concerned Yvetty hovering over him. He charged at Pearl, swinging his fist and landing a hit square in the offending monster's pointed face. "YAAAG!" Pearl screamed, clutching their snout. Blood ran from their nostrils, their face frozen in a shocked expression, eyes filling with tears. "W-what is _wrong_  with you?"-That's exactly what his dad had said-"I'm bleeding, I'm-AAAAAHH!" Pearl screamed as Papyrus charged them again, this time taking off in the direction of the town square. Papyrus ran after them, not able to make himself stop.

_What's wrong with me...? I don't even know the answer to that!_

With a tortured roar, he picked up speed, ruthlessly tearing after the terrified monster. He didn't have any intention of fighting Pearl anymore, but he couldn't make himself stop chasing them. He was so angry, and sad...and confused. Why did everyone have to treat him like this? What did he do _wrong_?

"HELP! HELP ME! HE'S CRAZY!" Pearl screamed, ducking under and inbetween monsters in a desperate attempt to get home, Papyrus following their every move. "HEEEEELP!" No one came to their aid, the blood trickling down their face unnoticeable due to how fast they were running, and the adults chalking up the chase to some crazy game.

"Uhuhu...what energetic children," An old bunny monster chuckled as the two flew past.

Weaving through monsters, buildings, trees, Papyrus was slowly gaining on them. He had no idea what he was gonna do when he caught them, but he was almost... _almost..._

Papyrus, heaving, finally gave up as Pearl suddenly bolted towards a specific house not far away. He let his legs carry his body a few more feet before he stopped, collapsing on the snow. "Better luck next time, buddy!" A snowdrake twittered from his porch, having watched their demented game of tag and seeing only innocence. Papyrus huffed out the last of his frustration, turned tail, and trotted home, legs wobbly and head spinning.

Evening was approaching as he returned, the shadows growing long and the frosted streetlights flickering on, their dulled light illuminating Papyrus's path. "Papy!" His brother yelled upon seeing him approach. Sans hopped off the porch and jogged up to his brother, eyelights bright with anxiety. "Are you okay? Why'd you punch that kid?"

"He pushed me."

Sans hummed in thought. "Does that deserve a punch?"

"He pushed me _hard_."

Sans frowned. "It deserved a punch. Let's go inside, dad made dinner and-"

"Where'd all the other kids go?" Papyrus interrupted, looking around the yard. It looked lonely now, abandoned snow projects casting dark shadows upon the trousled snow.

"They went home," Sans replied, shaking his head. "I think they all tried to follow you guys at first, but you were too fast. I knew I didn't stand a chance." He chuckled a little sourly at that, glancing down at his somehow chubby legs.

Sans was just big boned.

"That little blue monster was really worried."

That caught Papyrus's interest. "What'd she say?"

"Her parents picked her up, she said she'd come to play another time just to make sure you were alright."

Papyrus found his permagrin growing wider at that. Yvetty liked him...had he made his first friend outside of Sans?

"C'mon bro," Sans said, grabbing Papyrus's glove and pulling him along. "Let's get some food."

\----

"..."

"...Why are we here?"

It was long after Sans had gone to bed, and Papyrus and his father were strolling through the small lab in Hotland, Sans under the impression that they were both in bed as well. "Why'd we lie to Sans?"

Papyrus's follow up question was left unanswered as the two eventually made it to the lab's basement, the elevator doors sliding shut behind them.

"I wanted to do this in the Capitol, but it would've taken to long to get there tonight..." Gaster muttered under his breath as he led his son through a dark, narrow hallway. Papyrus was pulled along harshly, making him uncomfortable. He was distracted by his surroundings, however, as they looked like a scene from a horror movie he wasn't allowed to watch. This place was spooky.

_Cool..._

They passed a new-looking vending machine, wound through many long hallways, and through a large room littered with freshly-made beds, curtains hiding whatever would be on them from view. Papyrus grew tired, the combination of so much hurried walking and the late hour taking its toll.

The pair eventually made it into a dark room. In it sat a TV, an examination table made of metal, a dusty counter and sink, and many cabinets. So many, in fact, that they seemed to be poorly crammed into the room, sides splitting with the pressure. Random objects and papers spilled out of the bottom ones and onto the floor.

"What's this place?" Papyrus had never been to this lower part of the labs before. He was interested, but confused.

_This is kinda fun._

"This is the True Lab," Gaster replied, voice clipped.

"True...lab..." Papyrus repeated in wonder.

There was silence sans the rustling of paper for a moment as Papyrus's father rummaged in around the lower cabinets for something. "So," He huffed, finally finding what he was looking for. It appeared to be a metal box, and he inputed a passcode to open it. He pulled a dark object out, Papyrus not quite seeing what it was in the dim light. "I heard you got in a fight today."

Papyrus hung his head, the corners of the room suddenly seeming much darker. He was overcome with the sudden urge to bolt out the door and not look back. "How'd you know..." Sans hadn't blabbed, had he? No, his brother would never do that. He probably heard it from Pearl's parents.

"That child's parents contacted me."

Papyrus waited in uncomfortable suspense, his eyesockets closed. As the silence bore on, slowly he opened them, one by one, finding his dad not facing him but the counter, tinkering with the object he had pulled out of the box. "Just got tested an hour ago..." He was muttering to himself in deep thought. "If i just..."

A loud click from the object made Papyrus flinch. "Aha!" His father said, grinning for a moment before turning back to his son. "Anyways." He said, looking accomplished. "You are going to go apologize for your behavior to that child and their parents tomorrow. And..."

He gave a long look to the object before returning his gaze to Papyrus, his eyelights cold, calculating.

Bright.

"You're going to be on your best behavior."

Papyrus frowned as his dad led him to the metal table. He didn't feel comfortable with what was going on. He didn't even know _what_  was going on. Also, he hated that stupid kid.

_Why isn't dad yelling at me? This is creepy..._  He thought worriedly, climbing up onto the table in response to his father's gestures. He wasn't going to put up a fight, despite not liking how cold the metal felt through his pajamas or not knowing why this was happening. He felt like his dad was a time bomb that malfunctioned, and one prod in the wrong direction could set him right back on the track of blowing up again. Or, at least he was paranoid that this was the case. He found himself growing more and more scared as this through ran its course, and he shrunk in on himself a litte as his dad returned to the counter, trying to make himself smaller. He wanted so badly to ask why he was doing this. But he couldn't make himself speak. He was about to consider playing dead when his dad approached him again, object in full view.

It looked like a pitch-black collar, but different than the ones the dog monsters used for fashion, or for reeling in their children. It was slightly bulky and intimidating, long silver spikes fixated all around the inside, evenly spaced apart. A small rectangular prism was attached to the outside of the collar, decorated with an intricately engraved upside-down heart; a direct representation of a monster's soul.

Papyrus's father had told him that a monster's soul represented their very being, and could often be sensed by other creatures to determine a monster's current state and outlying thoughts. It also was the source of their magic, and with monsters being made mostly of magic, Papyrus had determined that the soul was very important.

Gaster unbolted the collar from an invisible lock whose location eluded Papyrus. He reached to place it around his son's neck, Papyrus leaning back slowly away from the thing as his father's hands grew closer. He had a bad feeling about this, eyelights fixated on the collar, growing more and more anxious from some unknown instinct. Suddenly, the hands stopped, and Papyrus wrenched his eyes from the collar to look warily up at his father. "Off with the scarf," Gaster said, gesturing to Papyrus's neck. Papyrus balked. He never took off his scarf. His big bro had made it for him a year ago, despite them living in hotland, which rendered it completely useless. Papyrus cherished it greatly anyway, wearing it everywhere no matter how hot he got. He glared at his father in sudden annoyance, fear disappating for a moment. _What is_ up _with this?!_

"Take. It. Off." Gaster growled through clenched teeth.

"WHATSTHATHINGYOU'REPUTTINGONME." Papyrus shouted, words coming too quickly with the incredibly supressed question and the anxiety that came with asking it.

Gaster sighed, understanding the child he'd raised alone for five and a half years perfectly. "It's a collar. A magic-powered one. It'll take your magic, use it to power itself, and it will help you behave a little better."

Papyrus barked at his father in defiance, feeling like a dog. He tried to leap off the table, but found himself flailing in the air, suspended by his father's blue magic. _NO!!_ He internally screamed. _I DON'T_ NEED _HELP BEHAVING!_

"That thing looks like its HURTS!" He yelled, suddenly feeling more afraid of the collar than he was of his dad.

"Papyrus..."

He felt himself get thrown down onto the table, non-existent stomach churning.

"Honestly. Please cooperate with me. I promise it won't hurt."

Blue magic holding him where he was, Papyrus gave up on struggling. "But...it's got spikes...is that how it makes me behave? I don't wanna put it on."

"The spikes are dull, see? They won't hurt you, they just keep it on. I promise it will not hurt you."

Papyrus's eyelights met his father's, searching for any sign of lying. Gaster kept a steady gaze, one glowing hand still outstretched to keep Papyrus still. He sighed. It wasn't like he had a choice anyway. He just had to hope his father was right about this. He closed his eyesockets tight and shivered as he felt his warm, familiar scarf get pulled off, replaced with the alien feeling of cold metal spikes enclosing his neck and weighing heavily on his clavicle. A click behind his head told him that it was on tight.

He opened his eyes and tried to look down at the collar, the object itself mostly keeping him from doing so. "Alright, boy, this might hurt a tad," His father said, reaching over to press a button on the side of his neck. Papyrus jerked away too late, panicking. "What? I thought you said it wouldn't--YAAAAAAAHHHHH!!" He cut himself off with his own scream as the collar suddenly retracted, the spikes burrowing themselves into his neck, hooking themselves deep inside the bone. Papyrus found himself unable to breathe for a moment, choking on metal and dust. He coughed painfully, tears filling his vision, ribcage heaving as he tried desperately to regain his breath. Skeleton monsters did not need to breathe, but it was still incredibly uncomfortable to be choked around the neck, especially when one is already in the habit of breathing already.

"Now," His father said, patting Papyrus on the head. "It wont come off, no matter what." He took his hand off of Papyrus's head and stood up, looming over the tearful boy.

"And if you try...that collar will spin the spikes that are in your neck with deadly force, wrenching your head off. I did try to have that feature removed, but that would've disrputed the main function of the collar, ruining its integrity."

Papyrus tried to scream, but only a strangled sound came out.

"You won't be able to speak for a couple hours, boy. But you'll be alright. Unless," Gaster warned, poking Papyrus in the chest. "You misbehave. This collar connects to your soul and can hear your mind, for the most part. I've programmed it specifically to my tastes. Any thought or action that I deem unacceptable will be punished with electrocution and pain to the very basis of your soul." He sighed. 

"I'm sorry, my son. But I strive for perfection. And I just don't have the time to work on you myself." 

Papyrus glared at his father, tears streaming down his cheekbones. _You liar, you terrible, awful-_

Hoarse screams suddenly ripped from his damaged throat as wave after wave of electric shock crashed through him, lights blinding him for a couple seconds before both the flash and the pain subsided, leaving him twitching on the metal table, tears completely dried up.

The last thing he saw before he passed out was his father reaching down to pick him up, no emotion to be found on his face.

_Don't touch me..._

_Don't..._

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for readin! and thanks for the comments guys, they keep me going. If you see any spelling or grammatical errors, lemme know!


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